Non-pressure hull type transport submarine with backbone



GORO sATo 3,102,504 NON-PRESSURE HULL TYPE TRANSPORT SUBMARINE WITH BACKBONE Sept. 3, 1963 Filed Sept. 27. 1960 INVENTOR.

GORO

United States Patent 3,102,504- NON-PREdSURE HULL TYPE TRANSPORT SUBMARDJE WITH BACKBONE Goro Sato, 336 lnarnura, lzusan, Atamishi, Shiznokaken, Japan Filed Sept. 27, 1960, Ser. No. 58,680 Claims priority, application Japan Nov. 11, 1959 3 Claims. (iCl. 114-16) The present invention relates to a ltnansport submarine having an internal tubular longitudinally extending backbone, which is used for transportation of material such as liquid, powder or grain, said material being able to trans mit pressure, when applied to one part, to every other part thereof.

The object of the present invention is to provide a transport submarine which can be built more easily and strongly, accommodate various substances more efficiently for transport, and produce higher performance of undersea transportation so that the tonnage is reduced to more than 30% of weight of cargo in an ordinary ty-pe submarine and the building cost more than 50%60%.

According to the present invention, a rigid tubular backbone, which is of heavy plate and which forms an inner pressure hull, runs from bow to stern at the center of the submarine, and such tubular backbone is enlarged at the center section thereof to form an engine room, crew quarters and :a control room. Attached to the backbone are circular-section bulkheads which provide support for the overall outer skin of light plate forming the nonpressure hull and main cargo holds. These may be compared .to the skeleton of a fish, and thus the submarine can have the most ideal structure for undersea cruising.

The above stated and other objects and features of the present invention will more clearly appear from the following description making reference to the accompanying drawings which show by way of example a preferred embodiment.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a longitudinal sectional view partially diagrammatic of an embodiment of the invention,

FIGURE 2 is a cross sectional view taken on line lI-ll of FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 3 and FIGURE 4 are fragmentary sectional views of pressure responsive devices on an enlarged scale according to the invention.

Referring now in detail to FIGURE 1, numeral 1 is a non-pressure thin outer hull of a submarine. In said hull 1 is provided a pressure hull 2 forming an engine room 3 therein. The space surrounding the pressure hull 2 and inwardly of the non-pressure hull 1 is for a main buoyancy tank 4 which provides ability to surface. As shown in FIGURE 2, to both sides of the engine room 3 are attached transverse balance tanks 6 partitioned by bulkheads 5. The tops of the tanks 6 are connected by an air pipe 7 and the bottoms by a water pipe 8 through a pump (not shown). Water in one of the tanks may be moved to the other to correct the transverse inclination of the submarine. Under a floor board 9 is formed a buoyancy control tank 11), into which sea water is introduced for adjustment of the buoyancy of the vessel as a whole. A control room 12 is formed inside a pressure hull 13 fixed to the fore bulkhead 11 of the engine room 3. Under the floor board 14 of the control room 12 is situated an adjusting hold 15 which is filled with oil during transportation of cargo, but in a return voyage, although the non-pressure hold 16 is filled with Water, the adjusting hold 15 is vacant so that the buoyancy of the vessel as a whole may be always kept constant, as the volume of the whole pressure hold including bow and stern side holds is about of that of the non-pressure hold 16 in case of a submarine tanker. Pressure hulls 19 3',lh.2,5fl*i Patented Sept. 3, 1963 ice 'aflixed to the fore bulkhead 17 of the control room 12 and to the aft bulkhead of the engine room 3, respectively, are for pressure holds 18 which are used to adjust buoyancy. The spaces outside of the pressure hulls 19 in the non-pressure hull 1 are for non-pressure holds 29 which are partitioned into parts by bulkheads 21 connecting the pressure hull 19 to the non-pressure hull 1. This provides a strong structure for the submarine like the skeleton of a fish. As shown in FIGURE 1 the pressure holds 18 in the pressure hulls 19 are also partitioned by bulkheads 22 at the positions corresponding to those of the bulkheads 21 mentioned above. The foremost portion of the pressure lhull 19 is partitioned to comprise a fore trim tank 24 by means of a bulkhead 23. Numeral 25 designates a sonar dome. Numerals 26 designate pressure responsive devices transmitting outside pressure into the non-pressure holds Zil'.

As shown in FIGURE 3 the non-pressure hull 1 has a hole 27 around which a cylinder 28 is attached and has also a hole 29 at the lower end. The cylinder 28 has a piston 31] therein and a spring 31 positioned under the piston for normally urging the piston upwardly. This piston is connected to the non-pressure hull 1 by means of bellows 32 and prevents the outside water from coming in but the pressure of said water which pushes the piston 30 downwardly forces air through the hole 27 of the hull *1. This air is transmitted into the non-pressure hold 20 through the hole 29 of the cylinder 28. Thus the pressure in the non-pressure hold 20 and the outside pressure balance and consequently the non-pressure hull 1 can be made thinner than would otherwise be the case. The rearward end of the rearward pressure hull 19 is partitioned to provide an aft trim tank 34' by meansof a bulkhead 33. The fore trim tank .24 removes the trimming water to and from the aft trim tank 34 by conventional means so as to adjust the trim of the vessel. There are pressure responsive devices 35 in case of cargo material which will neither mix with nor dissolve in water. As shown in FIGURE 4, the non-pressure hull 1 has a hole 36 through which sea water comes into the non-pressure hold 20 to balance the outside and inside pressures. For example water 37 and oil 38 in the non-pressure hold 20 are kept in separate state. The hole 36 can be closed by means of a valve 39 when necessary. The valve 39 is provided with a piston 40 which is always pushed downwardly in a casing 42 by a spring 43 normally keeping the valve 39' open. When pressure oil is sent through an oil pressure pipe 41 the valve 39 is forced by means of the piston 40 to close the hole 36. Numeral 44 designates a strut. When the non-pressure hold 20 is filled with liquid cargo, even though the device prevents sea water from coming into the non-pressure hold 29, the pressure of the sea water is transmitted to the liquid in the hold 20. Therefore the non-pressure hull 1 need not be so thick as the hull of an ordinary type submarine. i

Thus it will be apparent that cargo such as, for example, oil may be carried in the holds 20 and that varying pressures upon the outer'hull 1 are compensated for by the pressure-responsive devices 26 and 35, as above described. The buoyancy is maintained by the tanks 4 and 10 and trim by the tanks 24 and 34- as heretofore set forth. Ballast water may be transferred between the tanks 6 in conventional manner.

The embodiments described and shown areintended merely to exemplify the invention and do not limit it. Various modifications are therefore possible without going beyond the scope of the invention concept.

What I claim is:

1. A cargo transport submarine comprising a rigid hollow submersible body having a thin elongated outer hull having a circular cross-section which varies in diameter from end to end of the hull, a cylindrical inner thick hull axially disposed Within the outer hull, annular axially spaced bulkheads located between the inner and outer hulls defining therebetween a plurality of first compartments, a plurality of axially spaced circular partitions inside the inner hull dividing the same into a plurality of other compartments respectively surrounded by the first compartments, said partitions being coplanar with said bulkheads respectively, so that each inner compartment is surrounded by one of the first compartments, the volume of each of the first compartments in the outer hull being greater than the volume of each of the other surrounded inner compartments respectively, said inner hull having an enlarged portion intermediate the ends thereof so that certain of said other compartments thereat define engine and control rooms, while the remainder of the other compartments and the first compartments are available for carrying fluid cargo, for carrying ballast, for trimming said body fore and aft, and for adjusting buoyancy thereof. Y

2. A cargo transport submarine according to claim 1, further comprising normally open valve means opening through the outer hull into said first compartments to admit sea water for equalizing pressure on both sides of the outer hull, while lighter than water fluid cargo is carried in the first compartments above the sea Water in the first compartments.

3. A cargo transport submarine according to claim 2, further comprising pressure responsive means at the rea 4 spective first compartments for adjusting pressure therein, said last named means having diaphragm means excluding sea Water from said first compartments'while transmitting pressure of the sea Water to the first compartments for equalizing pressure on opposite sides of the outer hull.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 572,364 Midford Dec. 1, 1896 988,632 DEquevilley Apr. 4, 1911 1,277,943 Keall Sept. 3, 1918 1,429,941 Flamm Sept. 26, 1922 1,432,142 Von Sanden et a1 Oct. 17, 1922 1,500,997 Knox July 8, 192.4 1,634,220 Soliani June 28, 1927 1,796,200 Grienshaber Mar; 10, 1931 1,879,735 DAlbay Sept. 27, 1932 2,337,318 Eliuk Dec. 21, 1943 2,379,295 Gunning June 26, 1945 2,413,821 Frear Ian. 27, 1947 2,471,026 Eby May 24, 1949 2,727,485 Combs Dec. 20, 1955 2,823,636 Congwer et a1 Feb. 18, 1958 2,965,060 Asano Dec. 20, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 433,236 Italy Apr. 5, 1948 745,723 Great Britain Feb. 29, 1956 1,159,028 France Feb. 3, 1958 

1. A CARGO TRANSPORT SUBMARINE COMPRISING A RIGID HOLLOW SUBMERSIBLE BODY HAVING A THIN ELONGATED OUTER HULL HAVING A CIRCULAR CROSS-SECTION WHICH VARIES IN DIAMETER FROM END TO END OF THE HULL, A CYLINDRICAL INNER THICK HULL AXIALLY DISPOSED WITHIN THE OUTER HULL, ANNULAR AXIALLY SPACED BULKHEADS LOCATED BETWEEN THE INNER AND OUTER HULLS DEFINING THEREBETWEEN A PLURALITY OF FIRST COMPARTMENTS, A PLURALITY OF AXIALLY SPACED CIRCULAR PARTITIONS INSIDE THE INNER HULL DIVIDING THE SAME INTO A PLURALITY OF OTHER COMPARTMENTS RESPECTIVELY SURROUNDED BY THE FIRST COMPARTMENTS, SAID PARTITIONS BEING COPLANAR WITH SAID BULKHEADS RESPECTIVELY, SO THAT EACH INNER COMPARTMENT IS SURROUNDED BY ONE OF THE FIRST COMPARTMENTS, THE VOLUME OF EACH OF THE FIRST COMPARTMENTS IN THE OUTER HULL BEING GREATER THAN THE VOLUME OF EACH OF THE OTHER SURROUNDED INNER COMPARTMENTS RESPECTIVELY, SAID INNER HULL HAVING AN ENLARGED PORTION INTERMEDIATE THE ENDS THEREOF SO THAT CERTAIN OF SAID OTHER COMPARTMENTS THEREAT DEFINE ENGINE AND CONTROL ROOMS, WHILE THE REMAINDER OF THE OTHER COMPARTMENTS AND THE FIRST COMPARTMENTS ARE AVAILABLE FOR CARRYING FLUID CARGO, FOR CARRYING BALLAST, FOR TRIMMING SAID BODY FORE AND AFT, AND FOR ADJUSTING BUOYANCY THEREOF. 